There’s a big difference between divorce and annulment. Divorce is the legal means of ending a valid marriage. Annulment is a legal declaration that no valid marriage ever occurred. If you need advice about the availability of annulment as a way to declare your marriage void, or if you need help choosing between divorce and annulment contact New York matrimonial lawyers of Figeroux & Associates.
Establishing a right to annulment generally depends on proof of facts that attack the basis of the marriage itself, as opposed to the conduct of the parties during the marriage.
6 Examples of the circumstances that can support a grant of annulment under New York law
In previous generations, protecting the ability to remarry within certain religions was one of the more common reasons why a person would seek an annulment rather than a divorce. The need to prove grounds for divorce in New York state was another motivation toward annulment if the other spouse resisted the dissolution of the marriage. Today, especially given the relative ease of no-fault divorce in New York after a period of separation, divorce will usually be a preferred option for most people. Nevertheless, there are still situations where annulment will make better sense.
Marriages Motivated by Immigration Reasons
While most such marriages are perfectly legitimate, one spouse or the other might want to back out. If it’s the foreign national who needs advice about walking back a misjudged decision to marry a U.S. citizen, we coordinate our advice with the client’s immigration attorneys to avoid further problems with USCIS. If our client is the U.S. citizen, we focus on our client’s interest in voiding the marriage as quickly and completely as possible.
Find out more about our experience with New York annulment laws and procedures. Contact the New York law firm of Figeroux & Associates for additional information about annulment, divorce and other family law issues.